NEW YORK, Dec 26, 2011 (AFP) - Breast implants made by troubled French firm PIP have been at the heart of multiple lawsuits in the United States, where they were sold up until 2000, documents filed with the US government show.Tens of thousands of women worldwide have been fitted with the implants, w

Coffee aficionado Choi Seong-il still remembers when instant coffee usually was all one could get for a java fix.“People just did not know how to enjoy a good coffee,” he says while preparing an espresso in a coffee shop in southern Seoul.That was 25 years ago. The delicious dark brew has come a long way since then.According to World Resource Institute statistics, the per capita coffee consumption in Korea has grown four fold in 25 years since the early 1980s to around two kilograms a year. The

JERUSALEM (AP) ― The U.N.’s cultural agency said it is pulling funding for a Palestinian youth magazine that published an article suggesting admiration for Hitler.The magazine, Zayzafouna, published an article in February written by a teenage girl who presented four role models: a medieval Persian mathematician, a modern Egyptian novelist, the Muslim warrior Saladin and the Nazi leader.UNESCO said in a statement it “strongly deplores and condemns” the “unacceptable” material and would cease fund

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― The big dig for San Francisco’s multibillion dollar transportation terminal has unearthed some artifacts from during and after the city’s heady Gold Rush days, including opium pipes from a Chinese laundry and a chipped chamber pot found in a backyard outhouse.The 70 artifacts have city archeologists eager for more and local residents pondering the ground beneath their feet.“It’s not often that you get a chance to stop for a moment and have a window into what used to be,” sai

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Actor and director Mel Gibson has been officially divorced from his estranged wife Robyn Moore after a 31-year marriage, court records showed.A judge made the divorce official on Friday without revealing publicly the terms of the settlement with the troubled Oscar winner, who is believed to be worth some $900 million.The couple separated in 2006, shortly after Gibson was arrested for drunk driving and made an anti-Semitic tirade at police on the scene that triggered a major s

NEW YORK (AP) ― A debuting Swedish soprano and a cartwheeling Roberto Alagna took over leading roles as Des McAnuff’s atomic-scientist production of Gounod’s “Faust” continued its run at the Metropolitan Opera.As Marguerite, the maiden seduced and abandoned by Faust, Malin Bystrom got off to a slow start Friday night with a muted “King of Thule” song and a jewel aria that was too soft-grained to sparkle.But she improved as the evening wore on, bringing pathos to the spinning song, desperation to

‘Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon,’ ‘Jekyll & Hyde,’ Super Junior top their genresAlthough bestsellers aren’t necessarily the most superior or well-made ― especially when it comes to the diverse culture sector ― sales performance is nevertheless an important barometer of public opinion.Despite the lingering impact of the economic downturn and inflation, more Koreans were willing to open their wallets to go to concerts and the movies, and buy books and records, year-end statistics show, with overall sa

Jenkins creates her own genre in 8th album Katherine Jenkins“Daydream” (Warner Music)While “junior Sarah Brightman” might not be the worst nickname for a popera diva, Katherine Jenkins may have longed for a chance to establish her own identity. The Welsh musician does more than that in her eighth studio album “Daydream,” which sees the record-breaking multi-platinum-selling mezzo soprano not only returning to her musical roots, but creating her very own musical genre once and for all. As her mos

BETHLEHEM, West Bank ― A 45-foot-high artificial Christmas tree towers over Manger Square, and downtown Bethlehem is festooned with sparkling decorations. There’s even a picture of a saxophone-playing Santa Claus.But Nabil Giacaman, co-owner of a souvenir shop called Christmas House, isn’t feeling the holiday spirit.The third-generation wood carver, who sells handmade likenesses of baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary, sees as many as 200 tour buses arrive every day from Israel to visit the Church of